“You don’t have that same militaristic look as in the first three films because the Jedi are the ones that keep peace in the universe not the military.” “You’ll see as time goes on don’t really appear in the movie about the Republic, which is the first three movies,” says Lucas. This motif is significant, and is one of the defining themes of this era in the Star Wars saga. He specifically mentions their militaristic dress, noting, “The Nazis are basically the same costume as we used in the first film and they are designed to be very authoritarian, very empire-like.” In fact, Star Wars creator George Lucas even refers to the Imperial officers in The Empire Strikes Back as “Nazis” while giving his commentary of the film.
The fact that fascism inspired the look and feel of the Empire is no secret. At the core of what makes the Empire operate are the Imperial officers, a cold and efficient group who in many ways were inspired by the events of World War II. This month, it’s time to move the focus away from dictators and on to the individuals that make the Empire run. Last month, I examined the parallels between the rise of the Galactic Empire and the rise of the Third Reich.
